Chart Feature: Mariah Carey
Butterfly songstress Mariah Carey covers this week's Billboard Magazine with elegance, style and grace. One would ponder whether she's just a professional model, but the answer is no. Not only is she a dedicated mother, she's also renowned for her chart-topping records that took the industry by storm.
Billboard are proud to present an entirely new chart series; individual artist features. These editorial pieces will look at an artist's career as a whole, analyse it with a certain standard of depth and then pick out some highlights that need spoken about. We are pleased that Carey accepted our offer to become our first collaborator on this brand new project.
What better way to begin our discussion about Carey's career than highlighting her biggest record to date. Carey's third number-one album ('Butterflies') held the top-spot for two weeks in the first half of 2017. Noticeable for spawning the second of Carey's two number-one singles (also titled 'Butterflies'). Next year, Billboard will be introducing official certifications for music releases and it's only appropriate that the woman whose newest album is titled 'Diamond' has a diamond-certified album of her own. And that would be 'Butterflies'. Hearing this news, Carey said: "This is such an honor. I want to thank all the Lambilies for making this possible. Butterflies was and still is one of my favorite and most personal albums."
In addition to the aforementioned 'Butterflies' single, Carey topped the Hot Singles Chart with 'Rock With Me'; released in late-2016. Carey vividly recalls the day she got her first number-one, "I will never forget the day when I got the text from my manager saying it was #1, such a surreal moment. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Due to the chart-formula that was utilised in the early days of Billboard, this track ultimately went un-certified, but we wonder if, a few more years down the line, this track can reach gold.
However, not all superstars become superstars when they first start out. Carey is well known to have struggled in her early years, only to make it big-time and prove everyone what she was truly capable of. Her first single 'Standing Where I Am' peaked at the #16 position on the Hot Singles Chart and remains her lowest-performing single to date. It was the kick up the backside that Carey needed to dedicate herself to the path of music stardom. When asked about this track, Carey paused and then continued: "That was a very bleak era darling, I was not myself. I had different people managing me. I didn't have my wonderful manager (Sylk) back then."
Carey has also been no stranger to Holiday music. With Christmas coming up, Carey - an avid fan of the seasonal festivities - talks about her past holiday release 'My Christmas'. Unsurprisingly, the record remains her lowest-selling and lowest-peaking album to date. Of this record, Carey said: "It was a moment, we're gonna press delete!" When asked if she would record another Christmas album again, Carey responded: "I would love to, but I can't promise anything as of now. I have so much on my plate. But someday yeah, I love Christmas. I've been festive since I was a baby. Christmas is an all-year long affair for me so why not?"
Even someone as successful as Carey knows that there's strength in numbers and one shouldn't ever be afraid to ask for help from their friends. Two of Carey's biggest hits to date include a featuring credit on another artist's work; 'Coalition' (Christina Aguilera f/ Katy Perry, Ariana Grande & Mariah Carey) and 'Late Night' (Rihanna f/ Mariah Carey & Lil' Debbie). On 'Coalition', Carey recalls: "That was very fun, I remember recording it with Christina, Katy and Ariana and I know there were some rumors of a rivalry swirling around but that was just for laughs, we had a lot of fun doing that one. A lot of high notes too."
For 'Late Night', Carey states: "it was an interesting record, it was not planned, I was in the studio right next to Rihanna's and she came over and was like 'do you wanna be on this dope record I did with Lil Debbie?' and I had never heard of it but it's Rihanna so of course I said heck yeah!" Both tracks peaked at the number-four spot and are eligible for a platinum certification.
Next, we asked Carey about her favorite record to date, She stated that: "I love it whenever Prince, the dearly departed may he rest in his peace - I had the honor to call him a friend a mentor, but when he was asked that question, each time he would say; "the next one", so I wanna say that, the next one is my favorite. But like I said, Butterflies is a favorite moment, always. There are just too many moments darling." We look forward to what Carey brings to the table in future.
Finally, we'll look at Carey's current standings within the industry. It appears that the increase in streaming's hold on the industry has affected Carey in a negative way as the lead single for her current era peaked at the #12 position ('New Love'). Carey told us about the track in more detail: "New Love is about rediscovering your passion for love, it's the feeling when you meet someone. It's exhausting at first, cause you have to try and get to know them and everything and vice versa but then you get to a point where it becomes fun, finding out each others likes and dislikes, quirks, inside jokes... it feels new."
Meanwhile, Carey tells us about her current single, 'Good Thing' (#8): "it's about realizing you may have a longevity with this person you found love with, and it's a good thing, you have that going on. It's exciting and moving at the same time. I did this one with my friend The Weeknd, I love his voice and I really wanted a male voice on this record and it turned out to be so good." While it's far from the dominance Carey displayed only one year ago, these are still solid numbers for a legacy act who has nothing left to prove. Carey's eighth album 'Diamond' releases tomorrow.
